Tonight The Lies Will Be Evaporating From Your Lips

The music was pumping through the building and it felt amazing. One thing I do love about my job was I get to see bands perform live. Liz and I were waiting tables, having a good night. Everyone that comes to the House of Blues can be the friendliest people you could every meet. But I admit there are nights where they can be jackasses.

“Josie, can you get table eight ready for me?” Liz asked me while she was wiping down her other two rows of tables.

“Yeah, sure.”

With my rag ready, I started clearing the dishes and wiped the bits of food. I put the bin of dishes on the counter and walked around making sure everyone had what they ordered and if they needed refills. After all that caught up, I took a 2 minute break to catch my breath and then I noticed these two younger guys that sat down in my area. I had to say, they were very attractive. I served two glasses of water and walked towards the table. I place the glasses in front of them and pulled out my notepad.

“Hey guys, my name is Josie. What can I get you?”

The minute this guy looked up at me I felt sucked into his dark brown eyes. “What do you recommend?” he said.

It mesmerized me by the way it rolled off his tongue. “Um, today our specials are chicken lemon rice soup and double bacon cheeseburger.”

“How about steak?” I turned when his friend asked.

“Yes, we have steak. Would you two like two orders?” I asked with my pen ready.

“Yes, two orders of steaks,” he chuckled.

“You guys get to pick two sides. And how would you like them to be cooked?” I began scribbling down.

I felt him lean closer towards me and then I realized on how close I was towards him. “Rare. Very rare is delicious when you can still taste it a little bloody.”

His friend chuckled and I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. “Alright, I’ll be right back with your orders.”

I quickly walked away towards Liz.

She laughed, “Where is the fire?”

“Over there." I pointed to the same guys from before. I clipped the paper on the spin reel and turned it towards the cook.

“What’s wrong with you? They are hot. If you want, I’ll take over the table for you.”

I laughed. “Of course, but no, I can handle it.”

“Suit yourself," she chuckled and walked towards the back of the room.

“Josie, your order is ready,” the cook called out.

I grabbed the plates and placed them on the tray and I couldn’t help but try to hold back a gag. You can see the blood dripping off the sides. Who in the right mind would eat their steak like this?! I could see both of them looking at me with smirks on their faces.

“Here you go guys.” I placed their food down. “Anything else?”

The one with shaggy short light brown hair dug in almost immediately and the other one had short black hair that covered his eyes but it gave him a mysterious edginess towards him.

“No that will be all, Josie.”

Hearing him say my name sent shivers down my back and I walked away too quickly for my liking. I could hear them laughing and I didn’t care if they were laughing at me. After a few minutes passed, I walked back over to the table but they were gone. Great, let’s hope they are not those people who like to dine and dash. My eyes landed on a small white piece of paper on the edge of the table and I picked it up and two twenty dollar bills fell out. My eyes widen at the generous tip. On the paper there was very elegant writing:

‘Thank you for the wonderful service, Miss Josie. I hope to be seeing you again.’

His signature was there and I finally learned his name. Brendon. I stuffed the note and my tip in my pocket and picked up the plates.

Closing Time

“You should get going with your dad,” I told Liz as I finished sweeping. “I’ll finish wiping the tables and close up.”

“You sure you don’t want a ride? It’s like two in the morning and the bus isn’t running anymore," she told me as she slipped into her black hoodie.

“Don’t worry. I’ll text you when I get home.”

She just shrugged and waved goodbye. I finished cleaning and walked towards the back room and grabbed my stuff from my locker. With my messenger bag across my shoulder, I shut my locker and walked towards the back door and locked it behind me. There are nights where I would walk by myself and it felt comfortable, but tonight it felt different. You know those feelings you get when you feel someone is following you and then you try to concentrate on listening to your own footsteps, hoping that the sounds of your footsteps don’t double indicating that someone is actually following you? My arms wrapped themselves around my waist and I had my phone clutched in my left hand. The wind was strong and it whipped my hair around and I shuddered with the contact. Then I heard four sets of footsteps behind me and they were moving fast. I didn’t dare to look back, I just bolted down the street running as far as my feet could carry me. I could hear the laughter of the guys that were chasing me and I didn’t know where to turn to or where to go.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” I yelled at them and this seemed to make them laugh even more. I ran down the block, but two guys jumped off from the roof in front of me and I nearly fell on my ass from jumping back.

“Hello, pretty little thing,” he cooed at me.

There were at least seven of them surrounding me and they were dressed up in these suits. I was confused, not just by their appearance, but how they were circling me. The guy who spoken to me before walked up which forced me to land against the wall and he placed both hands on each side by my head.

“What do you want?” I tried sounding brave but I failed miserably.

“I just want a simple little taste,” he murmured into my ear.

He looked at me again and I noticed his pupils were fully dilated and his friends were chuckling behind him. His lips spread into a nasty grin and it revealed… fangs? He grabbed me by my arm and threw me into another man’s arms. I tried pulling myself free from his grasp, but he had one of my arms pinned behind me and his other grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head back.

“Please, just let me go. I won’t say anything,” I told him and the man just stared up and down my neck with a lustful look.

The guy traced his tongue up and down my neck and I heard him hiss, “Can’t wait to see how you taste.” They all laughed and were just watching their friends.

“Brendon is going to be angry with us.” One guy stepped out of the shadows and he was tall and lanky.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” the man who pinned me before spoke.

Then I realized he said Brendon’s name and I could feel the color on my face drain. He is one of them?

“HELP!” I screamed but a hand was clamped on my mouth.

“You know that’s music to my ears, but we can’t risk having you draw attention to yourself. Now stay still.” He licked his lips and started lowering his mouth to my neck and then he showed his fangs fully. Tears were escaping from my eyes because I knew I was going to die tonight.

My eyes were closed but then I heard one of them scream and dropped to the floor. Everyone turned to see what happened and there was this guy who looked to be in his early twenties. He had a blade in his hand.

“I suggest you guys let her go if you know what’s good for you,” we taunted with his blade ready at his side to strike again.

The guy chuckled and backed away from me. “What’s the little hunter going to do? You think you can take all six of us?”

Hunter? What the hell is going on? I was still being held.

“If that is what I have to do.”

The man who was speaking yanked me out of the other man’s arms and held me by my hair. He had a tight grip and dangled me in front of him. “She is ours now, so I suggest you leave and go back to your other friends or we'll rip your throat out.”

I was too stunned to react. I felt like I was in a Blade movie and I admit I was scared.

“If I was you right now, I wouldn’t be talking shit.” As he said those words, three other guys with guns, cross bow, and stakes surround them. They all looked around and bared their fangs and hissed. The guy chuckled and threw me over his shoulder and jumped onto the rooftop. I let out a surprised shriek and the guys began firing. I started punching his back but it had no affect on him.

“Put me down you bastard!” I screamed.

He continued running and jumped down into a random alley.

“Help!” I continued screaming and then I heard a hissing sound and realized it came from him. He fell and dropped me. The back of my head collided with the pavement instantly and I felt my head throbbing. I looked over at the guy and he had an arrow through his leg. He kept hissing and tried getting up, but he couldn’t. The guy who shot him walked over and aimed the cross bow at his head and shot him. Making sure the man was dead, he shoved a stake in his heart and the body evaporated into ashes. He walked over to me and I tried crawling away from him but I didn’t go far as I was too disoriented to move anywhere.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He reached for my hand but I pulled it away.

“Who are you? What the hell was that?” I pointed towards the ashes.

“Come with me and I will tell you.” He leaned forward and I could see his face when he came into the light.

He looked all too familiar. I squinted and then my eyes went wide. “Patrick?!”

He gave me a soft smile “Yeah, it’s me.”

I instantly felt dizzy and I could feel my eyes get heavy. My hand moved to the back of my head. Then I felt the warm liquid between my fingers. When I looked at my hand I saw blood. My vision grew blurry and I felt my body go limp. The last thing I saw was Patrick’s worried face and him reaching out catching me before I completely collapsed and darkness overwhelmed me.